Rumors arise about an imminent takeover bid for Burberry by the Italian Moncler

Italy’s Moncler is reportedly considering a takeover bid for British luxury icon Burberry.

Fashion website Miss Tweed reported on Monday that Bernard Arnault, who heads French conglomerate LVMH, was “I look forward to an agreement like this”.

LVMH, whose brands include Fendi, Bulgari and Stella McCartney, in late September bought a 10 percent stake in Double R, the investment vehicle of Remo Ruffini and Moncler’s largest shareholder.

Founded in 1952, Moncler began as a manufacturer of sleeping bags, but is best known for its padded jackets, popular with skiers and mountaineers.

Some analysts have rated Burberry a priority acquisition target as its value has plummeted over the past 18 months.

The London-listed brand, famous for its trench coats and tartan checks, has suffered a decline in turnover and profits amid a global slump in luxury demand.

Burberry’s trading has been particularly affected in China, which has been on the brink of an economic recession.

In its latest first-quarter results covering the 13 weeks ending June 29, the company revealed that its retail revenue fell 22 per cent to £458 million.

Comparable store sales were down 23 percent in both the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions, with the latter territory suffering a 21 percent drop in mainland China.

When Burberry revealed these results in mid-July, it also announced a profit warning, a dividend suspension and the departure of CEO Jonathan Akeroyd after just two years at the helm of the brand.

Akeroyd was replaced by Joshua Schulmann, who previously ran Michael Kors, Coach, Jimmy Choo and New York department store Bergdorf Goodman.

Burberry has since dropped out of the FTSE 100 index and seen its share price fall to a 15-year low, making it more attractive for an acquisition strategy.

Following reports of Moncler’s alleged interest, Burberry Stock It jumped 8 per cent in early trading on Monday before falling as much as 6.4 per cent to 863.6 pence at midday.

This is Money asked Burberry if it was in talks with Moncler, but a spokesperson for the brand said: “We do not comment on speculation.”

British companies have become attractive targets in recent years due to the weakness of the pound and a perception of undervaluation relative to their global peers.

Cybersecurity giant Darktrace, music rights investor Hipgnosis Songs Fund and energy infrastructure provider Smart Metering Systems have all fallen into the hands of foreign private equity this year.

Foreign companies have also reached deals to buy investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown, packaging company DS Smith, computer games company Keywords Studios and Royal Mail owner International Distributions Services.